List of All Articles with Tag 'world'

One summer night a decade ago, the al-Shami family was woken up by a roaring sound or rockets but it wasn't followed by the usual explosions. Instead, the family members started having difficulty breathing. Ghiad al-Shami, 26, remembers how everyone tried to run to the rooftop of their apartment building in eastern Ghouta, a Damascus suburb that at the time was held by opposition fighters trying to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad. Al-Shami's mother, three sisters and two brothers died that night — victims of the Aug. 21, 2013 sarin gas attack that killed hundreds and left thousands of others hurt. Ten years on, al-Shami and other survivors say there has been no accountability for the attack and for the other atrocities committed in Syria during the country's brutal civil war, now in its 13th year. Over the past year, Assad's government — accused by the United Nations of repeated chemical weapons attacks on Syrian civilians — has been able to break out of its political isolation. Assad was welcomed back to the Arab League, which had suspended Syria’s membership in 2011 following a crackdown on anti-government protests. With the help of top allies Russia and Iran, Assad also recaptured large swaths of territory he initially lost to opposition groups. “Today, instead of holding perpetrators accountable, Assad is being welcomed back into the Arab League and invited to international conferences, cementing impunity for the most heinous of crimes,” said Laila Kiki, executive director of The Syria Campaign advocacy group. “To all those who seek to shake hands with Assad, this anniversary should serve as a clear reminder of the atrocities his regime has committed,” she said in a statement. In 2013, Assad was widely held responsible for the eastern Ghouta attack — weapons specialists said the rocket systems involved were in the Syrian army’s arsenal. The Syrian government has denied ever using chemical weapons. Russia, Syria’s prime ally, claims the Ghouta attack was carried out by opposition forces trying to push for foreign military intervention. The United States threatened military retaliation in the aftermath of the attack, with then-President Barack Obama saying Assad’s use of chemical weapons would be Washington’s “red line.” However, the U.S. public and Congress were wary of a new war, as invasions in Afghanistan and Iraq had turned into quagmires. In the end, Washington settled for a deal with Moscow for Assad to give up his chemical weapons' stockpile. Syria says it eliminated its chemical arsenal under the 2013 agreement. It also joined a global chemical weapons watchdog based in The Hague, Netherlands, as global pressure mounted on Damascus. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has blamed the Syrian government for several deadly chemical attacks, most recently for a 2018 chlorine gas attack over Douma, another Damascus suburb, that killed 43 people. Syrian authorities refused to allow investigation teams access to the site of the attack, and had their voting rights within the OPCW suspended in 2021 as punishment for the repeated use of toxic gas. Damascus has accused the watchdog of bias in favor of the West and has not recognized its authority. Western countries say that Syria has not fully declared its chemical weapons stockpile to the OPCW to be destroyed. The Syrian government and its allies reclaimed eastern Ghouta in 2018, with most of its residents fleeing to the last rebel-held enclave in Syria's northwest. Abdel Rahman Sabhia, a nurse and former resident of the suburb, has since moved to the town of Afrin in the northern Aleppo province, now under Turkish-backed groups. “We lost hope in the international community,” said Sabhia, who worked at a voluntary field hospital in Ghouta at the time of the gas attack. “Why should we trust in them if we still haven’t seen any accountability for all the children who lost their families?” Sabhia says he had gotten used to airstrikes and shelling, but the aftermath of the 2013 attack was different. The streets were eerily quiet, “like a ghost town,” he recalled. “We broke into a house and saw a baby, just months old, lying dead in bed with his parents." At the time, dozens of bodies were laid out in hospitals with families looking to identify their loved ones. Some families were buried together in large graves. Al-Shami, who now lives in Istanbul recalls regaining consciousness a day after the attack. “I felt helpless,” he said. ___ Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Protests rock government-held areas in southern Syria as economy crumbles Iran's foreign minister visits Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince as tensions between rivals ease Syrian president doubles public sector wages as national currency spirals downwards

A leading physicist and astronomer who served as a key consultant in Vladimir Putin’s moon mission was hospitalised in Moscow after Russia’s first lunar expedition in 47 years failed. Mikhail Marov, 90, was rushed to hospital following a “sharp deterioration” in his health after Luna-25 spacecraft spun out of control and crashed into the moon. "It is so sad that it was not possible to land the apparatus," he said after the failure of Luna-25 was announced. Russia’s state space corporation Roskosmos said it lost contact with the craft at 11.57am (GMT) on Saturday after a problem as the craft was shunted into pre-landing orbit. A soft landing had been planned for Monday. "The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the Moon," Roskosmos said in a statement. It said a special inter-departmental commission had been formed to investigate the reasons behind the loss of the Luna-25 craft, whose mission had raised hopes in Moscow that Russia was returning to the big power moon race. Mr Marov told the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper that he hoped the reasons behind the crash would be discussed and examined rigorously. "This was perhaps the last hope for me to see a revival of our lunar programme," he said, according to Reuters. “There was a mistake in the algorithms for launching into near-lunar orbit,’ he was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. “It must be found.” “For the specialists who will be involved in the work of the commission, this will not be a big problem. I think the answer will be found in the foreseeable future.” Sharing details on his medical condition, he told the outlet that he is currently “under observation” as he shared his exasperation over the failure of the mission. “How can I not worry? This has been very much a matter of my life. It’s all very hard.” The failure of Luna-25 underscored the decline of Russia’s space power since the glory days of Cold War competition when Moscow was the first to launch a satellite to orbit the Earth – Sputnik 1, in 1957 – and Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to travel into space in 1961. It also comes as Russia’s $2 trillion economy faces its biggest external challenge for decades: the pressure of both Western sanctions and fighting the biggest land war in Europe since World War Two. Though moon missions are fiendishly difficult, and many US and Soviet attempts have failed, Russia had not attempted a moon mission since Luna-24 in 1976, when Communist leader Leonid Brezhnev ruled the Kremlin. Russia has been racing against India, whose Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is scheduled to land on the moon’s south pole this week, and more broadly against China and the United States which both have advanced lunar ambitions. Russian officials had hoped that the Luna-25 mission would show Russia can compete with the superpowers in space despite its post-Soviet decline and the vast cost of the Ukraine war. Additional reporting by agencies Read More Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashes into moon in failed mission The Russian space agency says its Luna-25 spacecraft has crashed into the moon. Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft suffers technical glitch in pre-landing maneuver The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Two women are wanted on suspicion of kidnapping newborn twin brothers from a hospital in Michigan. The Livonia Police Department issued an Amber Alert on Monday morning for the two missing children who were snatched from a hospital in Livonia. The African-American twins – Montana Alexander Bridges and Matthew Jace Bridges – are just 14 days old and are believed to be dressed only in diapers. Chilling surveillance footage captured the two kidnapping suspects – described as unidentified African-American females – with their faces hidden by hoods. One woman was dressed in a grey hoody, dark pants and white or cream croc-style shoes. The second woman was wearing a dark hoody, shorts and shoes. Their identities are currently unknown. The suspects are believed to be traveling in a black Jeep Cherokee with chrome trim around the passenger windows. They were last seen near the Quality Inn on Plymouth Road between Merriman and Middlebelt in Livonia, police said. Anyone with information is urged to contact Livonia Police Department at 7344662470 ext- 2 or dial 911 Read More Missing child stuck in storm drain rescued in Tennessee Friends of missing Katy Perry songwriter Camela Leierth-Segura fear someone is holding her captive

On Friday, a shop owner was shot by a man who complained about a Pride flag hanging outside of a store, on Hook Creek Road in California’s Cedar Glen. When officials arrived at the scene, they identified the victim as Laura Ann Carleton. Tributes are now pouring in for a "beloved" mother of nine and business owner who was known to be a supporter and advocate of the LGBT+ community. The death of Carleton has led to outrage across the country, with family and friends sharing their grief on social media. Actor George Takei, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, and said: “This is the result of the hate they spew. An innocent woman, a gentle and loving soul, has lost her life. My heart aches for her family in the wake of this horrific murder. Those responsible go beyond the murderer. Every anti-LGBTQ politician, bigoted pundit, and right-wing hate monger has Laura Carleton’s blood on their hands.” Follow our live coverage of the story here Here is everything we know about Laura Ann Carleton: Who was Laura Ann Carleton? Carleton, 66, also known as “Lauri” was the owner of Mag Pi clothing in California. She started her career in fashion during her teenage years and worked in the family business at Fred Segal Feet in Los Angeles, while attending the Art Centre School of Design, according to the Mag Pi store website. Carleton then began running the “top fashion” show floor in the US at Joseph Magnin Century City. She then joined Kenneth Cole (a US fashion house) and remained there for over 15 years, where she worked with factories and design teams in Italy and Spain. The fashion hopeful travelled with her husband across the US, Europe and South America, which fuelled her love for design, fashion, food, fine art and architecture among other things. Her clothing store, Mag Pi, is “all about tackling everyday life with grace and ease and continuing to dream.” What do we know about Laura’s death? On Friday, 18 August at 5pm officers from the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Station responded to a report of a person who had been shot at the Mag Pi clothing store. When police arrived, they saw that Carleton was suffering from a gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Officials from the San Bernardino County sheriff’s office said there was an initial altercation that took place at Carleton’s clothing store over an LGBT+ pride flag that the owner has displayed outside of her store. An unnamed male suspect made “several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store before shooting Carleton.” The suspect then fled the scene and was later located near Torrey Road and Rause Rancho Road, armed with a handgun. Police said in a statement when officials attempted to “contact the suspect a lethal force encounter occurred, and the suspect was pronounced deceased.” The investigation into Carleton’s death is ongoing and police said no further details are being released. Residents are advised to step forward with any information regarding the incident and are urged to contact the Homicide Detail. ‘This intolerance has to end’ Carleton’s daughter, Ari, posted a heartfelt tribute on her Instagram, remembering her mother as a “fearless, cool and compassionate” human being and describing her death as a “hate crime.” The caption said: “As most of you know our beautiful mommy was taken from us in a senseless act of violence on Friday August 18th. She was murdered over a pride flag that she proudly hung on her storefront. Make no mistake, this was a hate crime. Her flags had been torn down before and she always responded by putting up a bigger one. Our family is broken. We have a long road ahead of us as we navigate this new reality without our loving matriarch.” The post continued: “We find peace in knowing she passed quickly in a place she cherished, doing what she loved while fiercely defending something she believed in. She was fearless, cool and compassionate – always putting others first. We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support that our family has received from loved ones and strangers alike, it has provided hope and light in our darkest days. We will continue to advocate for love, equality and acceptance in everything that we do. Love will always triumph hate.” Hollywood director Paul Feig, whose works include Bridesmaids and The Heat, posted a tribute on Sunday, saying that Carleton, who he called his “wonderful friend,” had been killed by a young man. The post, captioned with a photo of Carleton and him said: “We are all devastated for her husband Bort and her family and the LGBTQ+ community, for whom Lauri was such a true ally. “This intolerance has to end. Anyone using hateful language against the LGBTQ+ community has to realize their words matter, that their words can inspire violence against innocent loving people. Let’s all keep moving forward with tolerance and love. Let’s not let Lauri’s tragic death be in vain,” he added. The Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ+ described Carleton as a "friend and supporter” and said that although she did not identify as LGBTQ+, she spent her time “helping and advocating for everyone in the community.” Sex and the City actress Kristin Davis also posted a tribute and said Carleton was a “strong ally” within the community. Davis’s caption said: “I had the pleasure of meeting Lauri and shopping in her charming store over the summer. I cannot comprehend what has happened and I can only imagine what her family and close friends are going through. “We cannot rest in our work towards love and understanding and equality for every person. It is abundantly clear that divisive senseless hate is the only motive for this hate crime. Lauri was a strong ally, when her Pride flags were stolen she quickly replaced them. To think that she was murdered for her support of our LQBTQ+ family tears my heart into pieces. “I want Lauri to be known as the HERO she was and is. I want her family to know we are thinking of them and for everyone to know that we must continue to stand up for what is right! #lovewins.” Read More ‘This intolerance has to end’: Celebrities react to ‘horrific’ shooting of California store owner over Pride flag California store owner, 66, shot dead after argument about Pride flag outside her shop

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